How Popular Culture Took Over My Life
by mcleigh1979
Summary: A regular woman starts seeing and interacting with characters from books and TV shows in real life. Is she going insane or is this really happening? Includes multiple crossovers from anime, books and TV Inuyasha, Bleach, SG-1, Star Wars, and more .
1. How It All Started

A/N: Only this story, any original characters and the basic idea are mine. Any and all fictional characters included in this story are the property of their respective owners. I just borrowed them for a brief cameo and some fun. No harm, no foul.

* * *

**Prologue – How it all started**

Looking back now, I can see where it all began. It actually started much earlier than I thought, but the warning signs were innocuous, seemingly unimportant until placed in context.

I had always been an imaginative child. From an early age I was a voracious reader, actually not very surprising in my family. In fact, you could call it a compulsion. Any chance I had, I had to read, whether it was books in the bathroom, or even the back of cereal boxes. At times I would even steal peeks into other people's books if I didn't have one of my own with me. That usually didn't happen since I was always careful to keep a book on me for any spare moment.

But this vast appreciation didn't stop with books. I watched television and movies avidly. I could remember whole plot lines, minor characters, and quotable lines long after viewing with startling accuracy. What can I say? It's a talent. A good parlour trick, but not very useful! Ah well, it meant that I had a large cache of useless information to call upon at any opportunity.

Well, with this background, it's not surprising that, by age 30, I had consumed a staggering amount of pop culture, from all range of media. Unfortunately this also included music. To a lesser degree, I could, without even trying, pick up tunes and lyrics with the first listen. For crying out loud, I was my own jukebox!

At some point, perhaps it was inevitable, that it would try to take over. The question was, would I realize it when it happened, and would I fight it or embrace it?

My name is Loretta Gowain and this is the story of how pop culture took over my life.


	2. Setting the Stage

A/N: Only this story, any original characters and the basic idea are mine. Any and all fictional characters included in this story are the property of their respective owners. I just borrowed them for a brief cameo and some fun. No harm, no foul.

* * *

**Chapter One – Setting the Stage**

If you follow television shows or movies, it is natural to associate actors with particular roles, especially if they've played them for a long time, forming a strong connection. I'm sure that everyone has moments of confusion now and then. Haven't you? When you're only half paying attention to the television in the background, focusing on some other task – perhaps cleaning or watering plants? Anyways, you hear a familiar voice in an unfamiliar circumstance – Captain Picard and Mel Gibson? What the heck is going on? And you have a moment of disconnect and confusion before you realize that – Oh no, it's not actually Captain Picard, it's Patrick Stewart, and he's in a movie with Mel Gibson, playing a completely different role. But for just a moment you are totally confused. It's totally natural and unremarkable. … But what if it wasn't? … What if it was in fact a symptom of a larger problem? … Would you realize it? Or would you just write it off as one of those things that happens to everyone?

That's what I thought.

But looking back, I think in my case, it actually was a symptom. There was more to it than I thought. Too bad I didn't realize it at the time! Ah well, as they say, hindsight is 20/20.

* * *

As I said, I had always been an avid reader, enjoying mostly fiction, but of all kinds. A friend of mine, Carrie, had told me for a long time of something different that I might be interested in … fanfiction. Apparently it is fiction written by fans of movies, books and television shows, using the characters and circumstances from the original work, but with new or altered storylines. Off hand, it seems like an exercise in creative writing to me. So she would tell me about fanfiction she had read centred around the TV show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", with new characters introduced and changing the focus of the story. So I heard about the stories off and on for a year or two, before finally checking it out for myself one day. Surprisingly, I found it quite engrossing and of decent quality, except for the occasional spelling or continuity error that drove me nuts!

It wasn't long before I had read all of the stories on that particular site. They were different stories, all set in the same particular "fanfiction universe" – a particular re-envisioning of the original storyline with the same defining factor that caused the difference.

Once I had finished those stories, I was eager for more. Like print books, fanfiction is dependent on the production rate of the authors. I soon grew impatient for further stories, but there were no more forthcoming from that website and fanfiction universe. So I expanded my range – still within the Buffy the Vampire Slayer fandom. There was a different universe on the website, with a different point of divergence from the original storyline, and unlike the first universe I encountered. Once again, it wasn't long before I devoured all the available stories in that universe as well.

Now, of course during all of this, my life continued as usual. I went to school, did my assignments, worked like normal. However, I will admit that at times, I needed to stop reading so that I could get everything I needed done. Yes, I did have to quit cold turkey at times, and it was hard sometimes. Looking back, that was another warning sign. Unfortunately, I ignored it, as I had the earlier signs. I stopped when necessary, but then went back to reading fanfiction when I could.

There wasn't enough in the original fanfiction universes that I started with, so … I branched outwards. I moved into other websites, and discovered a dazzling array of fandoms – different original sources in television, movies and books. There was everything you could think of, and many that you couldn't! It was rather scary actually. So many fandoms, and inconceivable numbers of stories within them! Alarming to say the least. And fascinating, actually. That there was evidently such a widespread subculture associated with all range of popular culture!

Ah, if only that were everything. But sadly, it didn't end there. Oh no, I wasn't happy to stop with the mainstream pop culture I was used to. Instead, I started in on other sources of pop culture. A different friend, Sean, was into a range of different activities, mainstream and otherwise. He was to prove crucial in my future development, good or bad.

* * *

He loaned me anime. Granted, I had encountered it earlier on my own. It had been a while, but I did remember some of the shows I had seen years ago. I was nostalgic for shows like _Cybersix_ (which upon a re-introduction, I regretted) and others that I had glimpsed once upon a time. However, I had encountered newer shows since then, on channels for children and young adults, I will admit. But, as is frequently the case, I stumbled upon these shows already in progress, when they were several episodes, or even story arcs, into the series' timeline. And, depending on the success of the show, and the frequency of its airing on television, it could take weeks or even months to cycle back to the start of the entire series. So, I asked for as much of the shows as he had, if not the entire series, so I could appreciate the entire work. Thus I engrossed myself in the worlds of _InuYasha_ and _Witch Hunter Robin_.

However, each time he gave me the shows I asked for, he included others, to expand my anime experience, and introduce me to other worlds to test my willing disbelief and perhaps my tolerance for thin plotlines! I did not test them all, choosing to save some for a later date. And, I will admit, that even the ones he highly recommended, I waited to begin, choosing, instead, to focus on the series I had requested, and enjoy them to the fullest. However, I did eventually test out some of the extra series he included. I rejected some as being far too flimsy in terms of plot and overall maturity. (Yes, yes, I am aware that we're discussing anime, typically created for teenyboppers, or even tweens _shudder_, and that I really shouldn't expect too much in the way of maturity.) But, I did find one of the extra series fascinating from the first episode, and I soon devoured all that he had given me as a taster. Therefore, I was soon requesting more _Bleach_, wanting to follow the adventures as soon as I could!

Therefore, through these two new avenues, fanfiction and anime, I was exposed to an even greater range and concentration of popular culture influence than ever before, especially given that this was in addition to what I was already reading in print books and watching on television and movies. To be frank, there was no reason to think that such amounts of popular culture would be dangerous. I mean, it's not like it stopped me from having a regular life. I still pursued my education, got a job, spent time with family and friends. It wasn't absorbing all of my time and attention.

But it was accounting for a large percentage. I should have noticed and realized that it might be a problem. But honestly, what would I say? Oh, I watch too much television! What parent hasn't said that about their kids? With so many statements like that, it starts losing its potency, to the point where you disregard it entirely. Never mind the stories. Like I said, I had always been a voracious reader, this was nothing new. The difference here was in the medium, now the Internet instead of print, and the quality or level of professionalism.

Anyways, that was the circumstances under which all of this came to pass. At that point, things were still manageable, if a little worrisome. But there was no doubt that I was firmly rooted in the here and now. I had my friends, family, job, education to keep me steady. I just had a bit of an unusual abiding interest in popular culture (which some have unkindly labeled an obsession).

However, it was from this point on that things would change.

As they say, here's where it really started to get weird!


	3. Hearing Things

A/N: Only this story, any original characters and the basic idea are mine. Any and all fictional characters included in this story are the property of their respective owners. I just borrowed them for a brief cameo and some fun. No harm, no foul.

* * *

**Chapter Two – Hearing Things**

I was walking to the subway one Monday morning on my way to work, hurrying as usual, since I was sure to be slightly late. My nose was in a book, as usual. I am so thankful for a) the ability to walk and read and b) my peripheral vision, which usually, but not always, keeps me from walking into things or people. Though there were those few times that I almost walked into a pole or a tree. What can I say? Oops!

As I was saying, I was walking and reading, and honestly, not paying that much attention to what else was happening around me. When I heard two people speaking loudly, quickly and heatedly in Japanese. I didn't think too much of it, since I live in Toronto, a very multicultural city. Now granted, I hadn't paid too much attention to the demographics of the area around me, because it didn't matter too much to me. All I cared about was that my apartment was in a safe and decent neighbourhood.

When suddenly I heard "Osuwari", and a loud thump, followed by cursing. Now, my head whipped up and around, looking for the source of that noise, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Writing it off as a weird joke, with people playing at _InuYasha_, I continued on to the subway and work, and forgot all about it.

(For those that don't know, a recurring gag in the _InuYasha_ anime is that the lead female character, Kagome, has the power to subdue the lead male character, InuYasha, with the word "Osuwari" – meaning sit – causing him to slam face first into the ground.)

In any case, it was a strange thing to hear in Toronto, but then again, we do have our share of crazies in this town.

I probably should have wondered more about it, but I had to get to work, and had a lot on my mind once I arrived. By the time I was done for the day, the entire incident had slipped my mind.

* * *

Later that week on Wednesday, I was at the large mall downtown, meeting a friend, Tanya, after work for a quick bite to eat and a stroll around window shopping. It was a change in our routine, of meeting once a week to have dinner and watch a movie or catch up on television shows.

We were walking along, talking about something or other, likely some annoyance that happened at work, when a snatch of faintly overheard conversation caught my attention. I barely heard two women speaking in rapid banter about some subject I didn't recognize, when I heard the words "Stars Hollow". I didn't catch much else, but that one reference caught my attention. I looked around quickly, but couldn't tell who had been talking, given the large crowds around us in the mall. Whoever it was must have been on the way out of my range of hearing, and otherwise didn't distinguish themselves.

I shook my head, thinking that someone must have been deep into a discussion about the television show _Gilmore Girls_, and apologized to Tanya for missing what she had just said. The rest of the evening passed uneventfully, and I put the matter out of my head.

(Again, for those who don't know, Stars Hollow is the town where _Gilmore Girls_ takes place. )

(Hah! Anyone reading this is going to learn far more about all the popular culture that I am inndated with than they surely ever wanted to know! Ah well, serves you right. You should have had a clue from the title!)

* * *

The next week, on Tuesday, I was on the streetcar going to do grocery shopping, predictably reading a book. Every stop, people got on and off the streetcar, mostly sticking to themselves. However, some were speaking with each other, on the phone, and at times, seemingly speaking to themselves.

Concentrating on my book, I wasn't paying much attention to those around me, other than to ensure that I wasn't impeding anyone, or missing my stop. However, I could hear the conversations around me, whether I wanted to or not.

At one point, in the course of a one-sided conversation, I thought I heard an unfamiliar female voice say "Dammit Jenks. Ivy is going to kill me for this!" Right then, the streetcar stopped again, and I saw, among those descending, a red-haired woman, apparently talking to herself. I looked for a second, but thought that I couldn't possibly have heard correctly, and shook it off uncertainly.

(For those unfamiliar with the reference, Ivy and Jenks are characters in Kim Harrison's book series that begins with _Dead Witch Walking_.)

* * *

Now, by this point I should have begun to suspect something. All I can say is that I have always been imaginative, and I do have a history of hearing strange things. (I remember once thinking that a co-worker had told me that "the cheque sheets were by the elephants", before I realized that she must have said envelopes.) Given that, I tend to discount hearing strange things, until or unless I can have it verified by someone else I trust, or the coincidences pile up too high.

At this point, I was still in the discounting phase. After all, each incident was connected to a series, book, anime or television, that I had recently been focused on, so it was not unusual for me to be thinking about them. Also, I still hadn't connected them together, since, as I've said earlier, I did forget them soon afterwards, and hadn't remembered them yet.

So, as I've said, I didn't think anything of it, having just occasionally heard a thing or two, which could be simply overthinking about series I was involved in, or just odd coincidences.

But that was about to all change very quickly.


	4. Seeing Things

A/N: Only this story, any original characters and the basic idea are mine. Any and all fictional characters included in this story are the property of their respective owners. I just borrowed them for a brief cameo and some fun. No harm, no foul.

* * *

**Chapter Three – Odd Sights**

That Friday, as I walked from the office to buy lunch, I was enjoying the sunlight, and thus, not reading my book as usual. Glancing idly around myself while walking, I caught a flicker of something out of the corner of my eye.

As I turned my head to follow the flicker, I thought I glimpsed the fading outline of an old fashioned telephone booth almost on the corner near the gas station. I couldn't be sure, since I barely saw it, but the telephone booth looked like the ones you see on souvenirs from Britain, except that it was blue, not red. However, when I blinked to look closer, the booth was gone.

Pausing in my walk for just a moment, I determined that, whatever it was, it was decidedly gone now, I continued walking to the local Indian restaurant. On the way back to the office with my lunch, I took another look at the spot where it vanished. This time, having nothing else to distract me, I thought about the strange sight.

Once back at the office, I just had to mention it to my co-workers. "Hey, did any of you walk south earlier this morning for any reason?" Unfortunately none of them had, so I couldn't get a second opinion on the matter. But I told them about it.

"It was the strangest thing. For a second, out of the corner of my mind, I thought I saw an old fashioned telephone booth near the gas station, but when I looked closer it was gone. Even weirder, now that I think about it, it was blue, and looked kind of like the booth used in the _Doctor Who_ show. Well, I must be imagining it, since it wasn't there when I looked. … Strange though."

My co-workers, used to my eccentricities, agreed that it was odd, but then went back to work.

* * *

The next Wednesday, I was walking through a local mall, heading for the Chapters/Indigo store, looking for a present for my mother – and just to browse the books too! As I passed an electronics store, there was a television set in the window. I noticed absentmindedly a head and shoulders view of someone in front of a changing computer graphic style background.

When I looked closer, I saw a computer generated bleached blond head atop a shiny black suit in front of a background of shifting parallel lines forming a box shape. For a moment it seemed like the head stared directly at me, and tried to speak to me, but the head jerked disjointedly. Unfortunately, since I was outside the store, and was separated from the television by a plate glass window, I couldn't hear the audio feed.

It took me a second before I realized that this was _Max Headroom_, a cool short lived show from the 1980s. I figured they must have been showing a preview from Deja View, that channel that airs reruns of old favourite shows like _Who's The Boss?_ and _Growing Pains_, among others. I wistfully thought of how cool it would be to see some of the episodes from _Max Headroom_ again, and walked on to the bookstore.

* * *

On Friday I was heading north of Toronto to hang out with friends of mine for the evening, basically playing games and watching movies. I hurried through Union Station, the train station which handled both short distance trains (the Go trains) headed for the nearby suburbs and towns, and the long distance trains (the Via trains) headed for further towns and provinces.

As I headed directly for my Go train, already having in hand a multiple trip ticket, I saw an unusual sight. Among the milling throng moving throughout the station, I saw a short individual, no more than 3.5 feet tall, wearing very simple clothes and large, hairy bare feet. It was the latter that truly caught my attention.

Who in their right minds would walk around a busy public thoroughfare like a train station in their bare feet? That's just asking to get your feet dirty and damaged. There's no telling what's been spilled on the floor, or even if there's broken glass or sharp objects. I paused slightly, amazed. But I had no choice but to put it aside, since my train was leaving in about a minute, and the next train didn't leave for another half hour.

I couldn't help but think about it on the train ride though, it was so unusual. At dinner that night, I mentioned it to my friends Brian and Carrie. They were really surprised to hear about it. I wasn't the only one to notice the similarities to Hobbits from _Lord of the Rings_, but we all agreed that that was just silly and impossible. So we wondered about it, but wrote it off as an unexplainable occurrence in Toronto. We went on to have a good evening, and played rail building games all evening after a nice meal.


	5. Halloween Anime Sightings

A/N: Only this story, any original characters and the basic idea are mine. Any and all fictional characters included in this story are the property of their respective owners. I just borrowed them for a brief cameo and some fun. No harm, no foul.

* * *

**Chapter Four – Halloween/Anime Sightings**

It's safe to say that it had been an odd few weeks, whether I remembered all the details or not. But, it was only going to get worse and quickly at that!

The next week, on Tuesday after work, I headed over to the local library to return a pile of books that were overdue. Once I had returned the books, I browsed through the shelves to find a new group of novels to sacrifice to my voracious appetite. As I scanned the shelves, I caught a glimpse of something that made me turn my head toward the entrance.

Walking calmly through the door was a vision in white. Dressed in a Japanese outfit of white silk balloon shaped baggy pants and white silk kimono with red flowers and flat black soft soled boots was a regal figure. His outfit was accentuated with a black armor plating around his midsection, and a yellow silk sash tied around his waist, and two large swords, apparently katanas, tucked into the sash. His armor was studded with a spiky collar along the top and around the shoulder, and he had a long fluffy appendage of fur wrapped around his shoulder and down his back.

His hair was pure silvery white and hung straight down his back to his knees, with a short fringe of bangs across his forehead. His face was pale and beautiful, highlighted with a blue crescent moon in the center of his forehead, and two horizontal magenta stripes on each cheek, tapering from his hairline to below the centre of his eyes. He had tapered, pointed ears, almost elvish in nature, and he had golden eyes and red markings on each eyelid. His fingers were tipped with sharp claws, and there was only an empty sleeve for his left arm. However, there was no sense of a handicap with respect to the lack of a left arm. You had the sense that such a lack could never seriously hinder this person in whatever he chose to do.

Watching him walk into the library, I could only think, That is the best likeness of Sesshomaru that I have ever seen. The attention to detail is amazing! For the figure was the spitting image of Sesshomaru, the older brother of InuYasha, the main character in the anime of the same name.

I also thought, Wow, he's truly gorgeous! I wonder what he's doing here?

I couldn't think of why someone would come into a branch of the public library dressed as an anime character. There didn't seem to be a reasonable excuse for it. Perhaps he's just really hyped for Halloween, and has a party to go to over two weeks ahead? Of course, I'm not sure why anyone would have a Halloween party on a Tuesday night, if it's not actually Halloween night. Parties usually happen on a Friday or Saturday night. Maybe he's just testing out his costume and wants to see the reactions of people around him?

Oh wait! Now I remember! I think there's some sort of an anime convention downtown at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. It goes on for three days or so, and artists, writers, colourists of different manga series are there. It's the same for the anime television shows. There are actors there, who either work in the real life shows or do the voices for the animated shows. Tons of fans attend, usually in elaborate costumes of their favourite characters. There is tons of memorabilia surrounding the animes and mangas available, as well as other merchandise for the attendees. This guy must be a die-hard Inuyasha fan. Well, he's certainly gone all out in his Sesshomaru impression.

Well, it's certainly the best one I've ever seen! I looked around the library to see how people were reacting to the amazing costume. To my surprise, no one was reacting at all! No one was sparing any looks in his direction. I found that really unusual. A costume that elaborate should elicit a wide range of reactions, and yet there was none. It was almost like people didn't see it.

The Sesshomaru look-alike had walked into the building and paused in the foyer. He looked around, with absolutely no expression on his face. You had the sense that, from that brief scan of the room, he knew where everything and everyone was without a second glance.

Sesshomaru's impersonator wandered over to one of the shelves, glanced at the spines of the books, then turned toward the tables of computers further inside. He walked over and observed a few library patrons typing away on the keyboards, writing emails or papers, or searching the library catalogue for books. I was at a better angle now, since he had moved closer in my direction. I thought I saw his eyes widen slightly at the patrons' actions and the results on the computer.

Abruptly the gorgeous man dressed as Sesshomaru executed a quick turn and walked out of the library, hesitating a split-second as the door opened automatically, then walking through and out the building. I saw him turn around the corner to the right, and disappear from sight.

That man is sure to win a prize in the costume contest at the convention. If he doesn't, it's a crime. He not only has a fantastic costume, he even has the arrogance and aloof nature that you'd expect from Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands.

Eventually I put the amazing costume and impersonation from my mind and sought out my favourite authors. I left the library about an hour later, having signed out about 15 books. Here's hoping I remember to return them on time. When you sign out that many books, even a few days overdue makes for an expensive late charge.

* * *

As Halloween approached I saw more and more people in costume. The attention to detail was amazing! I never approached any of the costumed people, I simply watched appreciatively from a distance. The time and effort they must have put into making those costumes is truly impressive. But the results seemed to be well worth it.

That Thursday, I saw a dark haired woman with lightly tanned skin and pale blue eyes cut through the park near my apartment building. I usually walk through the park on the way to the subway stop nearby on my way to and from work. Now, the woman was pretty, but admittedly it wasn't her face or hair that drew my attention. No, it was what she was wearing. She was dressed in an old-fashioned, leather skirted outfit. She wore knee high brown leather boots with low heels and armour plating along the front. Her skirt was made of numerous leather strips that hung down three quarters of the way to her knees.

They were tightly attached together at the hip, so the skirt was actually modest. Above she wore a leather bodice that was secured with two straps over her shoulders. The bodice fit snugly, and was overlaid with an elaborately breastplate made of interwoven strips of metal. She wore a sword hung down her back in a scabbard, and a sharp metal circular weapon.

She was a dead ringer for Xena Warrior Princess. As I passed by her in the park, I looked admiringly at her costume, smirked slightly, and offered my compliments in passing. "Amazing costume! It looks fantastic!" She looked at me oddly, but by that time I had already walked out of the park.

I know I said that I never approached any of the people in costume, but this was an exception. It's not like I walked up to her to start a conversation about her costume. Nope. Instead I called out a compliment on her effort as I passed by her on my regular route, not doing anything out of the ordinary at all.

* * *

On Tuesday, a week before Halloween, I passed by someone who looked remarkably like Teal'c from Stargate SG-1. He was a tall black man with impressive musculature. He was dressed in army camoflage fatigues, with a black vest overtop. The vest was impressive with the number of pockets and flaps and zippers, oh my. (Have I mentioned my love of bags and accessories with lots of areas to store stuff? I looooove pockets and flaps and zippers, oh my! You should see my purse – it's truly amazing what I can fit in there, and it's actually not that big, comparatively!)

Anyways. He wore military style black boots and carried a large staff with bulbous ends. The staff looked heavy, but he carried it as if it weighed nothing. Another distinguishing feature was the man's bald head and a gold insignia on his forehead. The man seemed incredibly serene, as if nothing could ever bother him. He was doing a very good impression of Teal'c, conveying his mannerisms and demeanour well. I was most impressed with the gold insignia on his forehead. That must have been the hardest part to recreate.

Other Jaffa in the Stargate world merely had the symbol of the Goauld god they served branded on their forehead in black. In contrast, Teal'c had been a First Prime of a Goauld god. Therefore, the symbol was branded on his forehead, then incised, and then filled with gold. It was a permanent symbol of his servitude to the Goauld. And expensive too. I was wondering how he managed the symbol, since it actually looked raised above the skin, like Teal'c's would be, which would seem to preclude simply drawing the symbol on the skin in gold paint.

Well, when I saw him, he was on the other side of the street, walking calmly along the sidewalk. As impressed as I was with the costume, I wasn't going to go over to ask him about it. I was on my way to visit my friend Tanya. I wanted to ask her about a writing challenge she had told me about a few years ago. I had come across a reference to it recently, on the website of one of the authors of fanfiction that I read. It sparked a memory, and so I checked out more about it. I wanted to ask Tanya what her experience of the challenge was.

It seemed pretty cool. It was called the National Novel Writing Month. The idea is that, between November 1 and November 30, each participant tries to write 50,000 words of a novel. You can have done all the preparation you wanted, but you can't have actually written any of the novel before November 1st. It seemed like a good challenge, especially if you had a good idea that had a broad scope. I thought I could do it, if I could think of a good enough idea. Who knows, maybe I could get some inspiration from the world around me?

* * *

That Thursday, the day before Halloween, I saw a really good costume. Actually, aside from a few bits, it seemed pretty easy, but still impressive. I saw Darth Maul, from Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace. He was the Sith Lord's apprentice. He was dressed in flowing black robes over a loose tied shirt and wide pants. The robes had a hood which added to the menacing appearance. I saw a glimpse of a weapon tucked into his sash. It was a the hilt of a double light saber. The joined hilt was a foot long by itself, never mind when the light sabers were activated. That would be cool to see!

Anyways, the truly impressive part of the whole costume was his face. He had glowing yellow eyes and pointed teeth (like Christopher Walken as the Headless Horseman in _Sleepy Hollow_). His face was covered in wavy sections of black and deep red face paint. I also caught sight of what looked like bone spurs around where you would expect his hairline. I could see a bit of it, since the hood was pushed slightly back on his head and loose. I looked for a little while longer before I went into my building for the evening.

Unfortunately Mark, my brother and roommate, didn't come home until later, so he didn't get a chance to see the impressive costume. Well, some people sure go all out for Halloween!

* * *

A/N: Please review. I'd like to know if anyone's interested in this story at all and what you think of it.


	6. Now I Know I'm Crazy!

A/N: Only this story, any original characters and the basic idea are mine. Any and all fictional characters included in this story are the property of their respective owners. I just borrowed them for a brief cameo and some fun. No harm, no foul.

* * *

**Chapter Five – Now I Know I'm Crazy**

That Saturday, just after Halloween, I was in the mall, doing some shopping, when I had a craving for a treat. So I stopped in at a McDonalds and ordered a Smarties McFlurry – a delicious, high-caloric dessert of soft-serve ice cream mixed with crushed Smarties. It's the perfect treat, cold and sweet and crunchy all at once. I only have it every once in a while, but I always enjoy it. So I had picked up my McFlurry at the counter, and decided to sit down to enjoy it, rather than try and eat it while walking around the mall. It was a Saturday, I was home for the weekend, instead of over at my boyfriend's for the weekend, or with my family or out with friends. I had no particular plans that day, no appointments to keep, my time was my own.

As I started in on my McFlurry, and thought of nothing in particular, I overheard a conversation nearby. Now, I couldn't really understand it, since it was in Japanese, which I don't speak. But I deduced from the voices that there were three or four of them, all young girls, and all chattering away. I looked over half curiously, and saw four young women at a table, all enjoying burgers, fries and drinks. They looked to be about mid-teens, somewhere around 16 years old, and all were dressed in sailor suits. That struck me as odd, since I had never actually seen a girl dressed like that, outside of anime and Japanese cartoons, where it is used as the standard school uniform. So these girls were all wearing white shirts with green wide-necked collars and a green scarf tied in front and short green pleated skirts, knee socks and shoes. Even more curious, I looked closer and noticed that one of the girls had long straight, full black hair down to her waist, with bangs in front, and a pretty face and large brown eyes.

Suddenly in their conversation, I heard two words I recognized, "Kagome", as one of the girls addressed the girl I was concentrating on, and "Inuyasha". Stunned, I sat there, my McFlurry sitting ignored and melting in front of me, and thought of the two words I recognized, and the resemblance between the one girl and the character Kagome in the anime _Inuyasha_. Gradually, I remembered where I was, and returned to eating my McFlurry. The group of Japanese girls eventually got up and left the McDonalds, going out further into the mall. By the time I got up to follow, and threw out my McFlurry, when I looked outside in the mall, I could see no sign of them anywhere.

Puzzled, I wandered the mall for another twenty minutes, before calling it quits and heading home, realizing that I hadn't noticed anything in the stores or windows since McDonalds, and that my head wasn't in the game anymore. The entire trip home I thought about what I'd seen. I couldn't come up with any reasonable explanation, and it was starting to make my head hurt. So I put in the back of my mind to puzzle over when I had more time or was better prepared to figure it out.

* * *

Tuesday after work, I got off the subway, planning to head over to the University of Toronto. I was reading my book intently as I got out of the station and started walking around downtown. At one point I looked up from my book and discovered that I had taken a wrong turn out of the subway. I found myself around Church and Wellesley, a well known homosexual area of Toronto. In fact, there were small rainbows on the street signs throughout the neighbourhood. I looked around, having never been in the neighbourhood before. There were people milling around, going in and out of stores and restaurants, and frankly looking utterly unremarkable. Ah well, it's not like I really thought things would look particularly different from any other part of the city.

Looking around, I did notice two people that seemed out of place. Both were older looking men with long white beards, and dressed in what seemed like long, loose robes. One man was very, very tall, Caucasian, with bushy grey eyebrows. He wore a long loose grey robe tied at the waist with a woven grey fabric belt, and a wide brimmed grey hat with a bent peak at least foot tall. His grey eyes twinkled, and his well aged face was friendly with a large nose. His wide grey beard reached halfway down his chest and his grey hair was long past his shoulders. He wore a grey cloak over his robes, and had a grey fabric satchel tied to his waist. He had a long thin pipe with a very thin stalk and a small cup. He carried a tall wooden staff, with a gnarled head, as tall as he was. Overall, he was grey.

The other one was also tall and Caucasian. He had a long white beard that tapered until it reached his waist. He had long white hair that flowed out almost to his knees beneath a small golden cap, with a wide maroon hem and two ornate buttons above his forehead, that reached a bent peak about six inches above his head. He wore rich thick robes in a maroon material with sleeves secured by three buttons at the wrist, tied at the waist by a wide gold coloured belt. He wore a matching maroon cloak with wide sleeves over the robe. His face was serene, with twinkling pale blue eyes and half-moon wire frame glasses.

The two men were standing on the sidewalk, almost between two buildings, close to an alley. They were standing quite close together, seeming very intent on each other. You could sense a connection between them. I was amazed to stand there and watch Gandalf the Grey, from _Lord of the Rings_, and Albus Dumbledore, from _Harry Potter_, standing together almost intimately, in the gay district of downtown Toronto. I suppose in a sense, it follows, since J.K. Rowling, the author of the _Harry Potter_ series has recently declared that Albus Dumbledore was gay. And Sir Ian McKellen, the actor who portrayed Gandalf the Grey in _Lord of the Rings_, is also gay. In addition, the two would have quite a bit in common, both being great wizards. So a strong connection between the two is understandable. It's just strange to see it in person in downtown Toronto.

I truly couldn't believe my eyes. I really would have liked to talk to them, and discover for certain if they were really Gandalf and Dumbledore, but I didn't want to disturb the tender moment they were experiencing. I watched for another moment or two, before shaking my head slightly, turning around, and heading back in the direction of the university campus.

* * *

That Friday after work, I decided to wander and explore some of the city. I wandered down into the ravine near the Rosedale subway stop. I was walking along, exploring the scenery, when I heard an odd sound echoing around me. It was jaunty little tune with lyrics that you couldn't help but catch and sing along with:

_"Rolling, rolling, rolling. Keep moving, moving moving. Though they're disapproving. Keep those dogies moving. Rawhiiiiide."_

I saw two men riding along on horseback. One was a striking man with dark hair. He wore a long light coloured leather coat with fur lining that reached halfway down his thighs and a dark scuffed cowboy hat. He wore a dark coloured shirt with a leather vest and a kerchief tied around his neck. He wore long chaps over his pants and scarred boots. He rode the horse like he was used to spending long hours in the saddle. His face was stern but with a hint of sensitivity. He looked about 30 years old. His dark horse was all rigged out for journeying. He had a blanket on the back of his saddle, a rifle in a slot down the side, and a long rope coiled along the pommel.

The other man looked like a young Clint Eastwood. He wore a heavy leather coat atop a a checked pattern shirt, a leather vest and a tie around his neck. He wore sturdy denim pants and chaps over top, and scarred boots. He had dark blond hair that stood up thick beneath his worn cowboy hat. His horse was dark with a bright white stripe from the top of his down to his nose, between the eyes. He had a friendly, approachable grin on his face. He looked about 20 years old. His horse was outfitted similarly to the older man's. Both men wore gun belts and revolvers around their waists.

The two men seemed to be getting along companionably. I heard them discussing the state of the cattle herd.

The Clint clone said, "Gee Mr. Favor, when do you think we'll reach Sedalia Railhead?"

"Soon enough Rowdy. The herd's moving well enough. We should be able to stop for the evening fairly soon. Scout on ahead to see if there's a good waterhole nearby."

The Clint Eastwood look-alike got his horse moving quickly and rode on past me. The striking dark haired man, Mr. Favor, rode back a ways, before passing me with 10 head of cattle moving at a good clip. The cows were huge, easily twice as tall as I was, with horns as wide as my arms outstretched.

I could only stare, dumbfounded, as they passed. Once they were gone from sight, I heard the music start up again:

_"Move'em up, head'em out. Rolling, rolling, rolling. Keep moving, moving moving. Though the streams are swollen. Keep those dogies moving. Rawhiiiiide."_

I was flat out amazed! Had I seriously just seen Gil Favor and Rowdy Yates drive ten head of cattle down Rosedale Ravine? The only reason I even had an idea of who they were was because my father had just received the first season of the old black and white tv show _Rawhide_ as a birthday present.

What in the world were they doing here? I'd swear they, and their cattle, just stepped straight off the tv screen and into the ravine. I swear, I must going insane! I couldn't have seen what I thought I saw.

What in the world is happening around me? Why have I been seeing these strange things? I continued walking along the ravine and thought about it some more before eventually heading home on the subway.

* * *

A/N: Please review. I'd like to know what you think of the story.


	7. The First Adventure

A/N: Only this story, any original characters and the basic idea are mine. Any and all fictional characters included in this story are the property of their respective owners. I just borrowed them for a brief cameo and some fun. No harm, no foul.

* * *

**Chapter Six – The First Adventure**

The next Wednesday after work, I was heading downtown to do some shopping at the Eaton Centre. The subway was surprisingly full for the pre-commuter rush, but there were a number of students heading downtown after school. There was still room to move, but it was a little close for comfort.

Taking a look around the subway car, I saw a, frankly, unbelievable sight. Standing nearby, holding onto one of the metal upright support poles to keep himself steady, was Boba Fett.

Yes, I'm being serious, Boba Fett, from the _Star Wars_ franchise. I blinked frantically, and even rubbed my eyes (a dangerous idea given the germs that proliferate on the subway), but he was still there. He was standing there in full armor, including face mask, but with no visible weapons.

Since I was in no particular hurry to get home, I managed to maneuver my way over to where I could easily see and hear Boba Fett, who seemed to be in deep conversation with a man in a business suit standing next to him. As far as I could tell, Boba seemed quite indignant about the increase in token price for the TTC (the Toronto Transit Commission). He complained that he could remember when you could travel from one end of the Empire to the other for only a few thousand galactic credits, and that was a transgalactic voyage! So spending over 2 Canadian dollars to get from one end of a single city to the other, within one province in one country on one planet, is a little much! The businessman allowed as how the price was rather exorbitant, but there really wasn't a viable alternative. But, Boba did concede that, at least on the TTC there wasn't the damned Muzak that played incessantly on the Empire ships. Always the same song "Duh-duh-duh, duh-da-duh, duh-da-duh." It was damned annoying. It rarely changed, only when one particular woman happened to be aboard, and then there was a single alternate song.

At that point, the businessman got off the subway at the next stop, after saying a polite, impersonal good day to Boba Fett. At this point, I couldn't help but start up a conversation with Boba Fett myself. I'll admit that perhaps I didn't start out in the most tactful way possible.

"Excuse me," I said, cautiously. "But, are you Boba Fett?"

"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?" he responded.

"You're the Boba Fett from the Republic or Empire?"

"Yes. Though to be precise, it's the restored Republic, now that the Empire has fallen. Again, why do you ask?"

"Well, not to be rude, but … why are you here? What are you doing here?"

"Well, right now, I'm heading to work. This is the most cost-effective and efficient way for me to do so."

"But, but, but. What are you doing in Toronto? In Canada? On Earth?"

"Oh that. Well, I've fallen on hard times since the restoration of the Republic. Everything's gone downhill since the Empire fell. There's not much work out there for a bounty hunter right now. Earth seemed like a nice little corner that doesn't have much interaction with the Republic, and it's somewhere that I can lay low for a while until business picks up again. As for Canada, the dollar's so high that my Republican credits traded at a better value. Plus, Canada's got free medicare, which I can't discount. Being a bounty hunter is a tough business, and it really takes a toll on my health. I figured, since I needed to lay low for a while, I might as well heal up at the same time!"

"Okay, I guess I can see your reasoning. So, you're working in Toronto then? What's your job? Bounty hunting again?"

"Oh no. I'm out of the business for a little while. Besides, all the legislation, on Earth as a whole, and especially in Canada, rules out that option. Your government doesn't recognize my credentials, and besides, most of my weapons are banned under something called the _Geneva Convention_? Anyways, it makes it really difficult to do my job with any skill or success. Not to mention the fact that my ship's been impounded! Damn those MIB! I stop in at the store to ask for directions and when I come out, there's a damn lock on my thrusters! I've never seen one before."

"I'm sorry to interrupt. A lock on your thrusters?"

"Yeah, I've seen something similar here on your vehicles. Here they put a lock on the wheel of the vehicle to keep it from moving? Well, the thruster lock blocks the thruster and stops the initial ignition! I can't move it an inch! As far as I know, it's still sitting in the store parking lot. Hah hah! I'll bet there are a bunch of confused people around there."

"Really? Why?"

"Well, I still had the stealth mode on. The damn thing's invisible!"

"I see. Yes, that would certainly cause some confusion around here. So, you never told me, where are you working now?"

"Oh, I'm down at the Air Canada Centre, driving the Zamboni."

I blinked a few times before responding. "I'm sorry. You're driving the Zamboni?"

"Yeah. As it turns out, I've got so many speeding violations from traveling around the Empire that my driving record is all shot. When I got here, I was told that I couldn't drive anything faster than a Zamboni. It's a real pain. And even worse, I only get paid minimum wage!" He said, insulted. "I can't believe it. I get paid 8.25 an hour. I can't wait until your government raises the minimum wage to at least 10.00 an hour."

"I'm sure a lot of people are hoping for the same thing. So, other than driving the Zamboni, what have you been doing since you got here?" I asked, curious.

"Well, I've been doing a lot of reading, since my other hobbies are apparently illegal." He pouted.

"What other hobbies?"

"Well, as I explained, I can't do bounty hunting. I can't go to the shooting range either, since I can't use my weapons. And to top it all off, I can't make my art! I've been warned by the Ministry of Health that working in carbonite is hazardous. Apparently freezing people in carbonite poses some health risks to the models, and maybe to those in the surrounding areas. I guess they did tests which determined that carbonite is slightly toxic. But it's my best work! Oil painting and pottery just isn't the same!"

By this point, Boba Fett was getting rather worked up, and was fast approaching a rant. I tried to calm him back down again.

"So, if there are all these obstacles, why do you stay?"

"Mainly medicare, like I said. I was thrilled to see that OHIP covers light saber wounds. Of course, it helps that I can claim Workers Compensation, since it did occur while I was hunting bounties. Oh and the pension. I may actually be around here long enough to collect it. Of course, that assumes that there will still be enough money in the Canadian Pension Plan, by the time I'm eligible to collect."

"Of course. I hope I'll be able to collect too. Well, it sounds like you've got a pretty good situation going right now, if you have to lie low anyway."

"Yeah, it's not bad. … Oh wait, here's my stop. Nice talking to you. What's your name, anyways?"

"Oh, sorry. I'm Loretta. Loretta Gowain."

"Oh, you're the one. I should have known. Well, good luck!" He said, as he headed for the door.

"Wait! What do you mean by that? I'm the one what? Why do I need luck?" I shouted after him, as he stepped off the subway car. He didn't answer, just waved as he headed for the stairs exiting the subway platform.

As I calmed down, I noticed that people around me were looking at me strangely. I got off at the next stop, and realized that I was five subway stops past my destination, so I walked up and over to the opposite platform, to catch the subway headed in the other direction.

And maybe to avoid the odd stares. But not necessarily.

* * *

A/N:

(For those who unfamiliar with the reference, MIB stands for the Men in Black, a top-secret agency that monitors and polices alien activity on Earth. From the movie _MIB _and _MIIB_.)

I'd like to thank everyone who has read my story. I'm glad to see people are interested. Thank you very much to my two reviewers, JonAxDrayda the TechnoHog  
and nalagaOcean777, your comments meant a lot to me.


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